Saturday, March 26, 2005

Sunshine Tax

The last four years have been hard on BC wage earners as their incomes have been hit hard as a result of the economy in our province. Changes to employment standards and labour law has made it easier for employers to hire more part time employees and pay lower wages.

In the Okanagan we are used to hearing about the sunshine tax, meaning employees here have to accept low wages as a result of the great place they live in. Many employers here and elsewhere in BC have become experts in denying legal rights of their employees.

I came across one major employer that does not allow the required 30 minute break for an eight hour shift. Employees are expected to sign a payslip each day indicating they took the break.

This kind of intimidation (sunshine tax) has occurred for years here in the Okanagan. What is different today is the increased difficulty placed on employees and the employment standards branch to enforce the law. With staffing cuts and loss of enforcement powers employers have the employees over the barrel.

We have two economies in the Okanagan, one for them and one for us. Read more on loss of earnings under the Campbell Liberals at strategicthoughts.com.